1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a traction system, and more particularly to a traction system for rehabilitative, diagnostic, therapeutic and training programs.
2. Description of Related Art
When a patient is suffering from one of various spinal injuries and diseases, such as disc compressional syndromes, facet syndromes, compression fractures, arthritides, contusional injuries, scoliosis, strains and sprains, etc., a traction system may be required to alleviate spinal stress and load to facilitate rehabilitation and hasten healing and recovery.
Various traction systems have been proposed which include a harness to suspend and pull particular parts of the patient's body. However, these traction systems generally do not provide sufficient rehabilitative and therapeutic results for a patient particularly suffering from these spinal injuries and diseases. For example, the ambulatory systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,010 to Abdallah or U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,663 to Pettit include a harness suspended from an overhead sliding track in which the patient may walk upright while suspended by the harness. However, such harness and support assemblies typically have limited adjustability and can interfere with proper breathing.